Don't Let Go
by gategirl
Summary: It's a Liason story! What else do I have to say? It's filled with angst, romance, and a surprise or two. Sequel to Don't Walk Away.
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Don't Let Go  
  
AUTHOR: Liz (liz84118@hotmail.com)  
  
SUMMARY: Sequel to Don't Walk Away

  
RATING: PG-13  
  
DISCLAIMER: Ok, I don't own characters (wish I did) made this story up, didn't make any money off it, blah blah, you know the rest.  
  
Feedback: Yes please ;-) It makes my whole day.

Authors Note: I'd like to thank my beta's Joy, J, and Priscilla for the inspiration and encouragement.  When I first started this series I never thought it was going to catch on like it did. But after the first story, it started catching on and people started requesting sequels. I just wanted to thank all those who encouraged me to continue with the story. I had a blast writing all these. There is still one sequel left in the series and hopefully a few more surprises, so stay tuned.

Warnings: Character Death

-----

Elizabeth was miserable. 

It had been a week since that fateful day at Kelly's, and she hadn't seen Jason once. She tried to stop by the penthouse a couple of days later but a reluctant Francis turned her away.

Which was the reason for her current mood.

Elizabeth had been painting for hours now, which usually helped to take her mind off things. It probably would've helped her if she didn't think about Jason every two seconds. 

And the more she thought about it, the more pissed off she got.

"Who does he think he is?" Elizabeth muttered, as she threw down her brush and started to pace.

It made her really furious that he thought he had the right to make decisions for her. The fact that he could toss her aside so easily whenever he felt like it hurt her. A lot.

Sighing, she looked at the canvas she had been working on and growled in frustration.

Without even realizing it, Elizabeth had painted a picture of Jason. He was staring out a window as if he was waiting for someone. His face as hard as stone, arms crossed

in front of him. Even then, she couldn't deny that he was gorgeous.

Turning away, Elizabeth walked over to the window of her studio. She had to talk to him, there was no way around it. She wouldn't be able to get anything done until she had 

spoken what was on her mind. 

And she was going to tell him exactly what she thought of the way he had treated her.

------

Jason stood in his penthouse, his arms crossed in front of him, staring out the window. His face was a mask of stone, but inside he was conflicted.

He kept replaying the conversation he'd had with Sonny the day after Elizabeth had been rescued from Taggert and his men.

_"How's __Elizabeth__ doing?" Sonny asked his friend._

_"I think she's doing ok. She hasn't really talked to me about it. But __Elizabeth__'s strong, and she's been through worse than this." Jason answered, hating the fact that she'd been through worse before._

_"Don't take her strength for granted Jason. Anyone can break."_

He'd been so scared for her, so afraid that his life would hurt her. But there was something else. Something that he hadn't wanted to name, that had scared him more.

He'd been in love with Elizabeth, for as long as he could remember. 

Jason's mind flashed back to the night she had gone looking for trouble at Jakes, when he helped her and she'd turned on him. The look in her eyes then, still haunted him even now. They'd held such pain

and anger. And more then either of those, strength. He saw her strength and was awed by it. Here was this beautiful, amazing woman, that had been through more than anyone should have to handle. 

And as much as he could see that she was hurting, he could also see the overwhelming strength in her.

He hadn't known it then, but that was the moment he'd lost his heart.

He'd been safe until now because Elizabeth had never gotten too close. She'd always been the one to run whenever they were on the brink of having more. Though even when she ran, she always came back. 

Their connection was one too strong to be so easily broken. But that didn't mean she hadn't hurt him every time she'd run.

Now she was finally ready to be with him, to be a part of his life, and that terrified the hell out of him. He was afraid of the pain he might feel if he let her too close and she decided to run again. 

He didn't think he could survive that kind of pain.

Jason sighed as he turned away from the window. Elizabeth was safer if she wasn't involved in his life. People died when they got too close to him. He couldn't be the one to put Elizabeth in that

kind of danger. And Jason knew, he was safer without her in his life too.

------

Sonny had been worried about Jason ever since Elizabeth had been rescued. He seemed different now. Distant and distracted, barely speaking to anyone.

He sighed as he walked over to his desk and picked up a file, scanning it's contents.

The door to the apartment opened and Jason walked in. "You wanted to see me?" Jason said, shutting the door behind him.

"There's been some trouble down at the warehouse that I need you to look into." Sonny handed Jason the file, watching as he looked it over. 

"One of the workers found a large package containing a white powder substance. It's been taken care of, but I want to know who's trying to set me up." Sonny said, anger bleeding into his voice.

"I understand." Jason said, turning to leave.

"Hold on Jason." Sonny called to him.

"That's not the only reason I called you over here." He said, concern flooding his voice. "Is everything okay with you and Elizabeth?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Jason sighed. "We're not together anymore." He said, his voice tinged with sorrow.

"What happened?" 

 "It's just too dangerous for her. I don't want her to get hurt anymore." Jason said quietly.

Sonny just nodded. He knew exactly what his friend was going through. Their life was too dangerous, too deadly, to put someone that they loved in danger.

------

Elizabeth had been waiting on the docks for at least two hours now. She knew that she would only get turned away again if she went to the penthouse. 

But she still had to talk to Jason. She figured that he was bound to have to go to the warehouse at some point, and this was the most direct route to it.

"This is crazy." She muttered aloud to herself. Elizabeth shook her head irritably. When the hell had she started talking to herself?

She was about to give up and head back up to her studio when she saw him. He was standing at the top of the stairs, looking at her.

"Jason." Elizabeth breathed.


	2. Chapter 2

Jason walked down the stairs without a word, barely acknowledging her presence. She grabbed his arm angrily as he started to walk past her.  
  


"Wait." 

She wasn't about to let him walk past her like she was nothing. Not without saying anything about it.

Turning him around to face her, she winced, his face an emotionless mask. It was like a slap in the face to have him close his emotions

off to her after all they'd been through.

"I don't deserve this Jason." Her eyes flashed like fire as she said those words. She felt the buried emotions rising to the surface, boiling over.

"What gives you the right to make decisions for me? What makes you think that it's ok to throw me away whenever you feel like it?" 

Elizabeth could feel hot tears sting her face and she angrily brushed them away.

"You say that I'm in danger when I'm with you. I don't care. Everything's a risk when you love someone." Elizabeth could feel her anger draining 

away as she looked into his eyes. Her eyes pleaded with him, tears shimmering in their depths.

"You're not safe with me." Jason choked the words out, speaking for the first time.

"I'm not whole without you." Elizabeth confessed, her voice thick with emotion. 

Jason felt her words in his heart, wonderful and terrible at the same time. "I don't want to fight with you Elizabeth." Jason said, speaking with the emotions he dared not show.

"Then don't. You don't let anyone make decisions for you. So why is it fair for you to make decisions for me?" Elizabeth challenged, anger creeping back into her voice.

"There is no way I'm putting you in danger again, Elizabeth. I won't take the chance that someone could come after you to get to me. As hard as it is for me to stay away from you, 

it would kill me if you got hurt .. or worse because of me." 

Elizabeth couldn't help the sob that escaped her as she heard the finality in his words.

"Why can't you understand that?" Jason turned away from her, trying to control his emotions.

"I'm sorry." Jason said, his voice pained. 

"I didn't want it to be this way, but I can't see you." Jason's voice took a note of sadness when he said this. 

He hadn't known it would be this hard. It was ripping him apart to be away from her. But he knew it had to be done. 

Finally, when there were no more words to be said, he walked away, leaving Elizabeth staring after him. He forced himself not to look back. 

Because Jason knew if he did, he might've stayed forever.

------

Elizabeth stood, watching Jason walk away from her.  It seemed to be a never ending cycle. It was her that had always run from her feelings, but as he disappeared 

from her view she realized that it was now Jason who was running from her. 

Heaving a tired and frustrated sigh, she walked over and sat heavily on the bench. She stared out at the water  and remembered all the things they'd been through together. 

All the times Jason had been there for her, all the times he'd saved her, even when that meant saving her from herself.

She was so caught up that she didn't hear the approaching footsteps. When a hand touched her shoulder, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Elizabeth looked up quickly and met the slightly worried eyes of Bobbie Spencer.

"Are you okay Elizabeth?" She asked.

"I didn't mean to frighten you. I tried to call your name. Are you okay?" She asked again, her concern bleeding into her voice.

Elizabeth just stared at her, barely hearing what Bobbie had said. Blinking, she shook her head slightly, pushing the memories that engulfed her away. 

Elizabeth smiled, feeling relief flood her that it was just Bobbie. "I'm okay. I was just thinking." She assured her.

"Well, I was just walking by and saw you and wanted to say hello. You really shouldn't be on the docks so late by yourself." Bobbie said disapprovingly, looking around at the gathering dusk.

Elizabeth's eyes flashed with pain and anger. "I wasn't alone, Jason was just here with me." Elizabeth said with a sigh, unmasked sorrow evident in her voice and face.

"I take it by the look on your face that everything's not okay between you and Jason." Bobbie noted, taking a seat beside Elizabeth.

"No." She said, feeling tears gather in her eyes. "Things are definitely not okay." She said quietly.

"Do you think it's fair that he just pushes me out of his life whenever he feels like it?" Elizabeth asked suddenly, surprising Bobbie.

"Why is he pushing you away?" She asked Elizabeth.

"He says it's to protect me. That his life is too _dangerous_ for me." Elizabeth felt the tears rolling down her face as a wave of anger and frustration washed over her. 

"But we've been through this before. He stays away to protect me but the only thing that happens is I don't get to see him." 

Bobbie patted Elizabeth's hand, understanding her situation. "Jason is a good man. He loves you, I can see it every time you're together. And if you love him, fight for him. Even if that means fighting him." Bobbie said with a smile. 

"Love is always worth the fight."

Elizabeth smiled at Bobbie, who'd always been good to her, no matter what happened between her and Lucky. "Thanks for the advice Bobbie." Elizabeth said sincerely.

"I have no intention of letting Jason go." She said, her voice etched with determination.


	3. Chapter 3

"So no one saw anything?" Jason inquired of the employees.  After he'd left Elizabeth, Jason headed straight for the warehouse. He hadn't been able to rid himself of the argument they'd had. 

It stayed with him, making it hard for him to focus. 

"Okay, you can all go back to work now." Jason said dismissing the workers when they all shook their heads.

Jason pulled out his phone, calling the number that was etched in his mind. "There's nothing here, not a trace. And none of the workers saw anything suspicious." Jason reported to 

Sonny when he answered the phone.

"That means whoever's behind this has someone on the inside. I want them found now." Sonny fumed, uncontrollable anger flowing through him.

Jason's eyes hardened, realizing what had to be done. "I'm on it." Jason promised before hanging up the phone.

------

"Morgan was snooping around the warehouse today." Ric, a recent employee at the warehouse, reported quietly into the phone. He looked around quickly to make sure no one was close enough to hear his conversation.

"Good, then everything is happening just as I planned." A rough, but rapturous, voice spoke into the phone. "Did you do everything as I instructed?"

Ric nodded, as if the other person on the line could see him. "I did everything just like you wanted." He confirmed.

"Excellent." The man said with a ominous laugh.

"Deliver the message." Instructed the rough voice.

------

It had been a particularly busy morning at Kelly's, and Elizabeth was wiped out. She finished cleaning up the mess that one of the customers had left at a table and sighed. 

"I'm going on break." She called to the new girl, Julie, behind the counter. "Go ahead, I'll be fine." She assured Elizabeth.

Outside Kelly's it was deserted, which was exactly the way Elizabeth wanted it. She needed some peace and quiet time to think.

"Are you Elizabeth Webber?" A deep, confident voice asked, shattering her new found peace. 

Elizabeth looked up and met the eyes of a striking man with dark hair and eyes that you could drown in.  These things barely registered to Elizabeth however, as she looked at the man warily, 

glancing over her shoulder at the few remaining people inside Kelly's.

"What do you want?" Elizabeth asked eyeing the man suspiciously. She started backing towards the door quickly as the man reached inside his jacket for something.

He saw her backing away and gave her a brilliant smile. "Don't worry, I haven't come to hurt you." He assured her, pulling a big manila envelope out of his jacket. 

"I just want you to deliver a message to Jason Morgan." He said handing her the envelope.

"What is this?" She asked cautiously.

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with. Just make sure that Morgan gets it, but don't open it." He warned, his eyes holding hers.

"In case you get any bright ideas, you should know that you're being watched. Even as we speak, there's a gun trained on you, ready to send a different kind of message." 

He smiled at her with a sickly sweet smile. "Have a nice day." His words, although spoken warmth, sent shivers of alarm down her spine.

Elizabeth watched as he walked away before looking down at the envelope in her hands. She noticed her hands were trembling, and tried unsuccessfully to control her emotions. 

There was madness in his eyes, and something else she couldn't describe. And it unnerved her, more than she wanted to admit.

------

"Did he hurt you?" Jason asked Elizabeth, fear and anger evident on his normally submissive face.

It was about fifteen minutes after Elizabeth had been approached outside of Kelly's. She headed straight for Jason's apartment and was relieved to find him at home. 

Seeing his reaction now made her wonder if she should've talked to Sonny first.

Elizabeth sighed, sitting  down on Jason's couch.  "No, he didn't hurt me. He just .. scared me." 

Jason nodded silently, his hands clenching angrily at his sides. He forced his voice to remain calm, the last thing he wanted to do was scare her. 

"I have to go over to Sonny's." He told Elizabeth, his eyes searching hers. "But I need you to stay here. Can you do that?"

Elizabeth stared into his eyes, wanting to demand to know what was going on. But she knew that he wouldn't tell her anything anyway. 

"I'll stay here." She agreed, watching him walk away from her for the second time that day.


	4. Chapter 4

Jason brushed past the guards and into Sonny's apartment to find Sonny, Carly and Michael all sitting down to dinner.

"Jason." Carly said at the unexpected interruption, smiling and getting to her feet. She walked over to him to give him a hug. Jason hugged her back distractedly, 

looking over at Sonny to give him an unspoken message.

Sonny responded, asking Carly to take Michael upstairs. After mumbling something that Sonny couldn't make out and rolling her eyes at him, she did what he asked, 

taking Michael upstairs to play with his toys.

"What happened?" Sonny asked as soon as he was sure they were alone.

"A man approached Elizabeth with a message to give to me." Jason explained holding up the envelope for him to see. 

Taking the envelope from Jason, Sonny opened it, pulling out several photographs and a piece of paper with a single typed word 'Anytime'. 

Flipping through the photographs, he saw pictures of Carly, Michael, Elizabeth, and even Mike.

Wanting to rip the pictures to shreds, Sonny tossed them on his desk instead. He walked over and poured himself a drink to calm his nerves. He tossed the drink back, 

but it didn't calm the rage within him. 

"I won't have Carly's life in danger." Sonny said angrily through clenched teeth. "I've had enough of this guy. First he comes after my business .." Sonny paused trying to rein in his anger. 

" .. And now he comes after my family." Sonny could feel the anger coursing through every part of his body.

Turning to face Jason, he spoke in soft but deadly tones. "I want him gone before he takes something I can't afford to lose."

Jason nodded, his eyes cold and emotionless. "I know what to do."

"Sonny?" Carly's voice said from the stairs as she came down, her eyes examining her husband and her best friend. 

"Pack a bag. You and Michael are going to stay on the island for a little while." Sonny told his wife, his tone leaving no room for discussion.

Carly's jaw clenched, her eyes flashing angrily at the demand. Their safety was important to Sonny, but she didn't want to leave him. Looking into his face, Carly held back her protests. 

It wouldn't do any good to say anything anyway. She turned her back to her husband and her best friend, once again finding herself following his orders. Because what Sonny wanted, Sonny always got.

------

Elizabeth was getting anxious. Jason had been at Sonny's for a while and she was getting tired of waiting. Elizabeth got to her feet, intending on going to Sonny's. Just as she reached the door, it opened, revealing Jason.

"What's going on?" Elizabeth asked worriedly.

Jason ran his hand across his face tiredly. "I need a favor."

Elizabeth stared at him curiously. "What do you need?"

"Sonny is sending Carly and Michael to his island, and I need you to go with them." Jason explained.

"No way Jason. No." She protested, her voice firm. "There's no way I'm going anywhere with Carly. We'd kill each other before we even got to Sonny's island." She said, walking away from him, further into his apartment.

Jason sighed resignedly and closed the door.

"Elizabeth, I've already talked to Carly and she's agreed to be on her best behavior. I have some business that I have to take care of and I need to know that you're safe." He tried to reason with her.

"I don't want to leave you." Elizabeth said softly, coming close to him. Placing her hand over his heart, she looked into his eyes. "There's still so much unresolved."

Jason looked down at her and his heart leapt. He was suddenly unable to understand how he could've believed he could ever have lived without her. "We've got time." He promised, his eyes holding hers. 

His hand reached up involuntarily and swept an errant lock of hair behind her ear.

"Will you go?"

------

Elizabeth was sitting in the back of one of Sonny's limo's listening to Carly prattle on about how she wasn't good enough for Jason and how his life would be so much happier without her in it.

Elizabeth and Carly were sitting in the back while Michael was sitting up front between Max and Johnny, their bodyguards for the trip to the airport.

"Listen, Carly." Elizabeth interrupted her tirade. Turning her attention from the passing landscape to the blonde beside her, annoyance was evident in her voice. "I'm not any happier about this arrangement then you are. 

But Jason _asked me to do this for him. And since I love Jason, and am a part of his life, I have to put up with you and this situation. You might as well get used to the fact that Jason loves me, and I'm here to stay." _

She told Carly calmly, barely controlling the sudden urge to strangle her. 

Elizabeth turned back to stare out the window. The rest of the trip to the airport was spent in silence, neither of the women looking at the other. When they arrived at the airport Max helped Carly and Michael with their luggage. 

As he went to get Elizabeth's things Carly called to him. "She can get her own things Max." Carly sneered at her and walked towards the airport terminal, with Max and Michael following behind her.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and reached for her suitcases only to find a hand already there. Looking up she saw Johnny and smiled at him. "Thanks." She said warmly, taking the smaller of the two and starting towards the terminal. 

"No problem." He said cordially, following close behind her.

-------

"Make it convincing." The man ordered his companion roughly. "I need to get her alone. Remember, come on to the blonde. When her bodyguard tries to send you away, put up a big enough fight to get his associate to come help.

Then keep them busy long enough for me to get away. Can you handle that?" The man nodded. He paid the drunk a substantial amount of money and walked away, concealing himself before anyone could see him. 

The drunk took the money and eyed the retreating man warily.  He didn't like the look in the man's eyes, they gleamed with murderous purpose. But he didn't dare speak his thoughts aloud, or refuse the money. 

He shrugged, with as much money as the man had given him he could buy a lot of liquor to drown his conscience in.

-------

Johnny and Max checked all the luggage. Then led Carly, Michael, and Elizabeth over to the waiting area where they sat, waiting for their flight to be announced. Elizabeth made sure that she was as far away from 

Carly as she could safely be, and stared out the window, losing herself in her thoughts.

"Hey baby." A man was saying, his voice was slurred and Elizabeth could smell the alcohol on him even from her position several seats away. She looked up quickly and saw a man leaning down towards Carly. 

She flashed him a revolted look, but said nothing.

The man seemed to take offense at this and became loud and obnoxious. "What? You think you're too good for me?" The drunk said, staggering back and reaching inside his filthy, tattered jacket. 

As soon as he saw the glint of the knife, Johnny, who until then had been stationed behind Elizabeth, raced over to help Max, who was struggling with the drunk.

Elizabeth heard footsteps approaching her and looked up quickly to find a man standing in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked the man suspiciously.

"Jason needs you." He informed Elizabeth.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked worriedly, all suspicions leaving her mind. "Is he hurt?" 

"He's fine for now, but he needs your help. There's no time to explain."

Elizabeth nodded. "Let's go." She said walking away, not bothering to inform anyone.


	5. Chapter 5

"Benny." Jason opened his door and greeted the man in front of him. "What did you find out?" He took the folder Benny handed to him, his eyes quickly scanning the contents. 

"I ran a check on all the recent employees like you said. All but one name came up clean. Ric Lansing, he had a few petty larceny arrests on his record. But what's really interesting is that

he was arrested a few months ago on drug possession. The DA had an airtight case, but right before the trial was going to start, the evidence disappeared and the case was dropped."

Jason nodded, looking over the evidence in his hands. "Thanks, Benny." 

Nodding, Benny turned to leave the apartment, grateful that his job was done. A part of him realized that he'd just been the one to sign a man's death warrant. 

But a bigger part of him blocked the thought from surfacing. 

Jason stood for several minutes, looking over the evidence and trying to get his emotions under control before heading over to Sonny's.

Opening the door to Sonny's penthouse, Jason entered, tossing the folder onto the couch next to Sonny. Jason's eyes were cold, the only sign of emotion was the clenching of his jaw.

"I found the traitor." Jason announced, anger soaking his voice.

 "Who is it?"

"Ric Lansing."

Sonny glanced at the contents of the folder and swore under his breath, his anger almost consuming him. 

He was silent for a moment, trying to control the anger that rose in him as he thought of a traitor in his midst and only partially succeeding. 

"What do you want to do?" Jason asked, thinking of the many thing he'd like to do to Ric for putting Elizabeth in danger.

Sonny threw the folder on the couch, walked over and made himself a drink, before answering.

"There's no way Lansing is behind all this." Sonny stated with certainty.

"How do you know?" Jason questioned him.

"He's not smart enough. He's reckless and sloppy." Sonny paused to take a drink. 

Jason waited for him to speak, knowing that Sonny was just barely reining in his anger.

"Find Lansing and convince him to tell you who he's working for." Sonny ordered in a hard voice.

"I don't want him to be able to cause anymore trouble after tonight." Sonny spoke the thinly veiled threat, his voice deadly calm.

Jason nodded, his eyes ice-cold. "I know what to do."

------

An hour later, Jason had searched the entire town. Ric Lansing had disappeared without a trace.

"Keep searching." Jason ordered Francis and Adam brusquely. The two men nodded and hurried away.

Jason pulled out his phone and punched in Sonny's number, a number he was sure was tattooed permanently on his brain.

"It's me." Jason stated when Sonny answered. "Lansing has disappeared. I've got Johnny and Francis out searching. 

It looks like he either knew we were on to him and skipped town or, his boss realized what a liability he was." Jason informed him.

Sonny sighed heavily. "That's not the only problem we've got Jason."

Jason felt his heart jump painfully in his chest, all his instincts telling him to brace himself for the worst.

_"I got a call from Max." _

Jason heard the words but they sounded distant, hollow.  'This couldn't be happening.'  Jason thought to himself as he listened to Sonny's explanation of what had happened.

Elizabeth was missing, again. Sonny insisted that they didn't really know for sure that she'd been abducted. There was no sign of foul play, no evidence of a struggle. 

"What about Carly and Michael?" Jason asked, ashamed that he hadn't thought of one of his best friends and the boy he thought of as his son before then.

"They're fine, on their way to the island as we speak." Sonny reassured him. 

Jason let out a relieved sigh. But his relief was short lived as an image of Elizabeth, terrified and hurt, flashed into his mind.

Jason told Sonny goodbye and hung up, not waiting to hear his response. Looking up at the sky Jason found himself saying a silent prayer to the heavens that Elizabeth would come back to him unharmed.


	6. Chapter 6

Elizabeth had been kidnapped. Again. She couldn't believe this kept happening to her. 'How stupid am I?' She asked herself, shaking her head ruefully. 

She winced at the movement, belatedly remembering her head wound.

Elizabeth had followed the last man she ever expected would betray her to his car. As soon as they reached it, Elizabeth felt something hard and metallic 

connect with her skull. She'd woken up and found herself bound, hand and foot and a gag in her mouth.

She could feel a large soft object directly to her right and another slightly harder object to her left. She felt movement and heard an engine growling quietly not far

from where her head rested. She groggily opened her eyes and confirmed that she was laying face down in the back floor of a car. The driver hit a bump, sending multiple

waves of pain shooting through her head that radiated to the rest of her body. 

Elizabeth's hands and feet were bound tightly, cutting the circulation off and making them numb. The rag that was tied tightly around her mouth was rancid and made vomit rise in her throat.

When he hit another bump and sharp pain emitted from every part of her body, Elizabeth was unable to stop the moan of pain.

Elizabeth froze when his voice floated to her ears. "How are you feeling Elizabeth?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at her quickly before returning his eyes to the road. 

His voice was both playful and sadistic in one breath. He laughed contemptuously when he heard only silence in response to his question. "You must think I'm a monster. 

But the truth is it's your boyfriend who's the monster. Him and that bastard he's working for. They destroy people's lives so casually." He clucked his tongue disapprovingly. 

"I really thought you had better taste in men." There was silence for a moment, and when he spoke his voice took on a soft quality. "I just want you to know that this wasn't the plan. 

I had everything planned out perfectly." He was speaking more to himself than to Elizabeth. "Then everything went so wrong, so quickly. First that idiot Taggert let it get too personal, he nearly ruined everything.

And then that bastard Lansing tried to double cross me. _Me! I tell you, it really is hard to find good help these days." He chuckled faintly._

All the years that Elizabeth had known him, she never would have expected this. He had gone off the deep end, and her heart almost went out to him. 

Then she thought of her present state and angrily pushed the sympathy away. She didn't know what his reasons were and she didn't particularly care. 

He was a monster, and she mentally kicked herself for not seeing the warning signs sooner.

Then realization hit her with a cold hard slap to the face. Elizabeth's heart pounded in her chest. 'It can't be.' She tried to tell herself. But deep inside she knew the truth. 

This was the man behind everything. He had controlled Taggert, he had threatened her life and the people that she cared most about. Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut tightly, tears escaping and rolling lazily down her cheeks.

The man in the drivers seat let out a mock weary sigh. "I guess it's time to go see just how much Jason Morgan actually loves you." 

The car turned a corner quickly, tires screeching, and Elizabeth was tossed by the momentum of the car so that she was half sitting half kneeling in the floorboard.

"I'll give him a choice, his life or yours." He said in a sing-song voice, either not noticing or not caring that Elizabeth was sitting on her heels looking at him with murder in her eyes.

Elizabeth knew exactly what choice Jason would make. And there was no way in hell that she was going to let him. She struggled against the pain that coursed through every part of her, the effort taking all the strength and courage that she had left.

She half stood, half crouched in the moving car and launched herself at the man she had trusted more than anyone else in her life. His head connected with the drivers side window with a sickening crunch. 

Elizabeth could see blood spraying from a nasty looking gash on his temple. The blow knocked him unconscious and the car swerved out of control. 

After that everything went in slow motion. Elizabeth's hands and feet were still bound tightly so there was little more she could do than brace herself for the impact she saw coming. 

She tried to crawl back over the seat to safety but something caught her shirt, holding her in place. She tried frantically to rip the shirt and free herself as the car lunged wildly out of control.

Elizabeth vaguely heard the screams of the motorists and pedestrians that had taken notice of the wildly flailing car. The car crashed through a fence and into the thick brick wall of a building. 

Elizabeth flew forward with such force that she felt herself thrown through the windshield of the car and onto the pavement. Pain racked every part of her body. 

She felt the world spin crazily as darkness began to claim her. A flood of thoughts clogged her head. Thoughts about the man she loved, did he know how much she loved him? 

About the life she might never lead, her friends ... Oh God, her friends. But what she wanted to know most of all was why?

Why Nicholas?


	7. Chapter 7

The security guard for the building ran up to check on the young woman who had been thrown from the car. He quickly confirmed that there was a pulse and 

hurriedly checked the pulse of the driver. His head bowed in sorrow as he realized there was none. The guard looked up and did a quick double take as he realized who the young man was. 

Nicholas Cassadine!

  
The guard recovered from his shock at realizing that one of Port Charles most prominent citizens was dead, and hurried to call for an ambulance. 

He dialed 911 quickly and was connected after only two rings. "I need an ambulance quickly." The guard said, his voice frantic. The 911 operator was calm and her voice soothing. 

"Calm down sir, tell me what happened." The guard took a shaky breath before answering.

"There was an accident. One man's dead and a woman is badly injured. She needs help right away." His voice took an urgent tone, nothing like this had ever happened to him before. 

"We're sending someone your way now. Sir, if you could tell me your location." The guard shook his head and would've laughed at his own stupidity if the situation weren't so serious.

 "The Corinthos-Morgan warehouse." He informed the operator. "Please hurry."

------

Jason had searched all over town for Elizabeth and still hadn't found any sign of her. His phone suddenly sprang to life and Jason barely resisted the urge to throw the damn thing.

"Morgan." He answered, his voice angry and worried at the same time.

"Jason, there's been some trouble at the warehouse. An accident." Sonny informed him, his tone scaring Jason more than anything he'd ever experienced in his life.

"What happened Sonny?" Jason nearly yelled, feeling an irrational terror building inside him.

Through the lump in his throat, Sonny told Jason as much as he could about Elizabeth's accident. "She's at the hospital right now." 

Jason didn't wait to hear anymore, jumped on his motorcycle and raced through the streets to the hospital.

----

Running to the nurses station in a blind panic, he demanded to know where Elizabeth was, from a very obviously terrified nurse.

"She's in .. in .. intensive care." The young nurse informed him, stumbling over her words.

Jason flew down the hallways, needing to find Elizabeth. After a few agonizing minutes lost in the hallways Jason finally found her and barged right past the doctor that tried to block his path.

"Sir, you can't go in there." The man said following Jason to Elizabeth's side. The doctor was giving him a glare that would've terrified most men. It didn't even faze Jason.

"Is she going to be okay?" Jason demanded in a raw, emotion filled voice as he looked down at her. She looked so tiny and fragile in the large hospital bed. 

Her face and arms covered with ugly bruises and gashes. Her wrists were raw, an angry red. She had obviously been bound. 

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to block out the sight, and silently vowed to make someone pay for her pain.

He looked at the doctor, his eyes full of fear. The doctor took pity on this man, who so obviously loved the woman who was now barely clinging to life.

The doctor shook his head, he hated this part of the job. He detested having to be the one to bring bad news to people who were already in pain. "I'm sorry. It doesn't look good." 

As if on cue the machine that was monitoring Elizabeth's heart rate began beeping erratically.

Jason looked at the doctor frantically. "What's happening?" The doctor ignored Jason's question and raced to Elizabeth's side, checking her vitals. 

Jason took her hand and placed on his chest over his heart, not knowing what else to do. "Hold on Elizabeth." He demanded brokenly. "Don't let go." 

A team of nurses rushed through the door gently but firmly pushing Jason aside as they went to work. He watched as they tried to get her to stabilize. 

His heart seemed to stop, his world crashing down around him, as the monitor attached to Elizabeth suddenly gave a long high pitched sound.

                                                                                                To Be Continued …. 


	8. Epilogue

Jason watched numbly as the doctor tried to breathe life back into Elizabeth's deathly still body. Everything moved in slow motion for Jason. He saw the doctor and nurses rushing to try and save Elizabeth's life. But it all felt so surreal, like he was trapped in a nightmare that wouldn't end.

How could Elizabeth be lying there so still? He had never seen her so still, so quiet. Jason had never been the praying kind, but he found himself sending a prayer to God for the second time that night.

Everything was completely silent, like the world was on mute. Nothing else existed, nothing else mattered. All Jason heard was the silence where Elizabeth's heartbeat should've been. He felt empty and cold.

"We've got a pulse," The nurse declared, her face beaming.


End file.
